Improvement in stringed musical instruments



UNITED STATES vPATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE L. VILD, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

lMPROVElViENT lN STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l I ,655, datedSeptember 5, 1854.

To all whom, t Netty concern..-

Be it known that I, GEORGE L. WILD, of the city of Baltimore, in thecounty of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Stringed Musical Instruments; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full and exact description thereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon.

My invention relates to new and useful devices for tuning theabove-named instruments. The nature of my improvement, however, does notconsist simply in the employment of screws, instead of the ordinarytuning-pins, fortuning said instruments, that having been known andtried before, but to my knowledge has never been entirely successful, onaccount of mechanical difficulties for which no provisions were made.Providing for these difficulties, therefore, constitutes the nature ofmy invention.

The principal diliiculties are the liability of the screws to bend fromthe pressure of the strings that are attached to them, to turn aroundwhen their nut is turned, and also a want of space to attach each stringto a separate screw, unless the screw be made very weak. To prevent thescrew from bending, it is provided at that end to which the strings areattached with a small projection of sutlicient length to rest lirmlyupon a metallic or other basis without allowing the screw itself to comein contact with the basis. The opposite end is provided with the femalescrew and passes loosely througha hole in a wall or ridge against whichthe nut rests. To prevent t-he screw from turning around, the endcarrying the strings is made to work in a slot and guide. In order tohave space enough to make all parts of proper strength, I attach two ormore strings to one screw, which I will now term a tuning-screw,77 andtuning them simultaneously. As, however, the strings will not allharmonize together by this arrangement, I employ asecond screw, termedthe regulating or harmonizing screw, by means of which they are made toharmonize perfectly with one another. This screw is made, arranged, andoperated in the following manner: The screw is secured to a bar, termedthe pressure-bar, beneath which the strings pass from the bridge to thetuning-screw. That end of the harmonizingscrew provided with the femalescrew slides loosely through a hole in a bridle or arch, both arms ofwhich rest upon one string. If now the nut is screwed upon the bridle orarch, this will press upon the string, causing it to harmonize with therest.

To enable others skilled inthe art to make and use my invention, I willnow proceed to describe its construction and operation more fully,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure l isa top or plan view. Fig. 2 is a view showing all parts in perspective.Fig. 3 is a broken side elevation of the harmonizing` or regulatingscrew with its bridle. Fig. il: is a broken side elevation of thetuningscrew.

The same letters refer to like parts.

A s the basis-plate, to which all parts are secured.

B B are the strings.

O and II are the slot and guide for preventing the tuning-screw fromturni-ng around.

D is the tuning-screw, to which the strings may be attached in any knownway, the one shown, however, being preferable. d is the Wall throughwhich it passes. a is its nut, and f its supporting projection.

F is the pressure-bar, firmly secured to the basis-plate and placed atsuch a height that the strings in passing under it to the tuningscrew Dwill exert a necessary pressure upon the bridge G. I'Ience the necessityof the supporting projection f.

I is the harmonizing-screw fastened in the pressure-bar. E is its nut,and L is the bridle or arch. The female screw for screw I may, however,be just as well in the bar F ask in the head E, which must then besecured to the screw I. This arrangement is preferable to the one shown.b are square heads upon the nuts for'turning them by means of a key orwrench.

To tune any instrument provided with the above described tuning andharmonizing screw, it is only necessary to turn the nut a to the right,whereby the screw D slides backward, carryin g the strings with it andsubjecting them to a transverse strain. The nut a must be turned so longtill one of the strings B is tuned to its proper pitch. The rest arethen tuned to their proper pitch also by be- -instruments, particularlypiano-fortes, can be tuned much easier and will keep in tune much longerthan heretofore. There is also a great deal of time and labor saved asWell in tuning as in manufacturing the instruments, and theopportunities offered for beautifying the above-named class ofinstruments are unbounded. l/Vherefore I do not limit myself to anyparticular shape or form,

that being entirely controlled by the dictation of fancy or therequisition of circumstances.

What I claim as my invention does not consist simply in the employmentof screws or their equivalents for t-uning and keepingstringedinusicalinstruments in tune; neither do I claim any particularshape, arrangement, or form; but

I claiml. The employment of the supporting projection f or itsequivalents of the tuningscrew D a, for the purpose set forth.

2. The use of the slot and guides C H or their equivalents, for thepurpose substantially as described.

3. The bridle L or its equivalents, operated by the harmonizing-screw IE or its equivalents, for the purpose substantially as herein specified.

GEORGE L. WILD.

Witnesses:

SAML. GRUBB, JOHN F. CLARK.

